Police warn against scammers posing as 'customers', targeting F&B businesses with fake reservations, orders

SINGAPORE — The police on Tuesday (Dec 13) called for businesses and members of the public to remain vigilant against fake restaurant reservation scams amid the festive season.

The scam involves people pretending to be customers who call food-and-beverage (F&B) operators, such as restaurants, to reserve numerous tables and ask for expensive off-menu items such as expensive wine or seafood.

Following this, the scammers would provide the contact details of a fake supplier for the items, and then inform the F&B operator that a deposit or payment has already been made by the "customer" to the victim's bank account.

In some cases, scammers would send a forged screenshot showing money being transferred to the F&B operator’s bank account, the police added.

Victims would then be directed to contact the fake supplier to make payments for the off-menu items requested by the scammer.

"Victims would only realise that they had been scammed when they discovered that they did not receive any funds from the 'customer', or when the off-menu items were not delivered or and the 'customer' becomes uncontactable," said the police.

Urging business owners to be vigilant against such scams, the police advised F&B operators to avoid making payments or deposits in advance when dealing with new suppliers.

Operators should instead arrange to meet the supplier and pay only upon delivery of the goods, the statement added. Businesses should also do online searches for reviews of suppliers to establish their legitimacy before committing to a purchase.

Members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688 for more information on scams.

Anyone with information about such scams may contact the police at 1800-255-0000 or at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.